St. John’s may be coming to the O’Connell Center tonight, but Florida will be looking for St. Anthony to find its defensive game that has been missing this year.
Poor defensive play has plagued the Gators so far this season. Florida allowed an average of 70.2 points per game through its first five games. It surrendered an average of 64 points through its first five games last year.
“We’re continuing to work really hard on our defense,” coach Amanda Butler said.
“That’s the area that we feel is our biggest weakness. We’re trying to figure out what works best with which five. We’re trying to get individuals better at performing their jobs consistently at a high level. That’s our biggest challenge.”
After losing 76-68 to Florida State on Thursday, Butler is determined to get her team over the hump and start playing consistent basketball.
“You can’t cry too long over it at this point,” she said. “You’ve got to be ready to get your shoes tied up tight again and get back out for the next one.”
Florida has been outrebounded in the majority of its games. St. John’s is currently averaging 43.5 rebounds per game compared to Florida’s 35.2.
In the O’Connell Center, Florida has outrebounded only Bethune-Cookman.
Now, the Gators are again aiming to defend their floor and outmuscle the Red Storm.
“We’ve been very inconsistent (in grabbing rebounds), so it has to be our focus and have our attention,” Butler said. “It just has to be a focus for us. It has to be something we’re paying attention to.”
Tonight, the Gators are presented with the tall task of trying to contain one of the game’s most prolific guards — sophomore Aliyyah Handford. This season, she is averaging 25.8 points and 10 rebounds per game.
“We’ve got to be ready for a very high-powered offense, some individual scorers who are really, really impressive,” Butler said.
“They have a lot of quickness, a lot of athleticism and they are a team that hasn’t been beat yet, so we have some great challenges ahead of us.”
Follow Gordon Streisand on Twitter @GordonStreisand.
